Shampoo hat

ABSTRACT

A SHAMPOO HAT HAVING A GENERALLY ANNULAR UPSTANDING WALL OF A SUITABLE HEIGHT DEFINING THE CENTRAL HOLE ENABLING IT TO BE PLACED UPON THE HEAD OF AN INFANT OR OTHER USER. A BRIM FORMED INTEGRALLY WITH THE WALL INCLUDES ALTERNATE RIDGES AND GROOVES WHICH EXTEND RADIALLY FROM THE BASE PORTION OF THE WALL, AND IN ONE FORM EXTEND ONLY TO MIDWAY OF THE BRIM. THE WALL AND BRIM AND MOLDED OF A FOAMED SYNTHETIC RESIN OF CELLULAR TYPE INTO A UNITARY STRUCTURE.

Oct. 12, 1971 SEIICHI YAZAKI SHAMPOO HAT Filed Dec. 31, 1969 INVENTORsmncm YAZAKI BY M ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,611,442 SHAMPOO HATSeiichi Yazaki, Sakai, Japan, assignor to The Fujimoto Company Limited,Osaka, Japan Filed Dec. 31, 1969, Ser. No. 889,645 Int. Cl. A42b 1/02US. Cl. 2--174 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A shampoo hat havinga generally annular upstanding wall of a suitable height defining thecentral hole enabling it to be placed upon the head of an infant orother user. A brim formed integrally with the wall includes alternateridges and grooves which extend radially from the base portion of thewall, and in one form extend only to midway of the brim. The wall andbrim are molded of a foamed synthetic resin of cellular type into aunitary structure.

The present invention relates to an improvement in a shampoo hat whichprimarily is intended for use with the head of an infant when the infantis given a shampoo and which provides a partition between the head andthe face so as to prevent shampoo and washing water from running downthe face or from entering the eyes, ears or mouth.

The type of shampoo hat conventionally known and available has a brimwhich comprises an annular metal frame along its outer periphery and arubber or vinyl resin sheet extending between the outer frame and anelastically expandable center hole which fits around the head.Accordingly, such shampoo hat is relatively heavy and when worn the hatcauses much pain to the skin of the head which is in engagement with theperipheral edge of the hole, because it exerts undue pressure on theskin in linear contact therewith. Infants are therefore reluctant towear it. In the case of other prior art shampoo hat provided with arubber or vinyl resin brim, in addition, there is a need to secure aframe member to the outer edge of the brim in order to keep the brimtaut, so that when the head is inserted into the center hole formingmember which is formed substantially in circular shape, the strainthereby produced inevitably results in large sidewise wrinkles in thebrim between the frame and the center head hole in accordance with theamount of the strain, thus impairing the natural flow and drainage ofthe shampoo or washing water on the brim surface. Furthermore, theconvenitonal shampoo hat has another disadvantage that it is notsuitable for mass production because of structural reasons and thereforeit is costly and less suitable for popular use.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a shampoo hatmainly for infants which is made of a highly elastic foamed syntheticresin material and which is therefore extremely lightweight and capableof providing the desired comfortable partition between the head and theface with high degree of reliability but without imparting uncomfortablepressure to ones head when worn.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a shampoo hatwhich is so formed in its structure and material as to absorb the strainin the head inserting hole produced when it is worn and to therebypreclude the formation of sidewise wrinkles in the brim which wouldprevent the outflow of shampoo or the like, satisfactory drainage thusbeing ensured.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a shampoohat whose constituent parts are integrally molded of a foamed syntheticresin thereby providing amenability tomass production and low cost.

3, 11,442 Patented Oct. 12, 1971 The shampoo hat of the presentinvention is made of a highly elastic, lightweight, foamed material ofcellular type which is obtained by foaming a synthetic resin such aspolyethylene. The present shampoo hat comprises a wall formedsubstantially in circular or elliptical shape to define a central holeto be fitted around the users head and extending upward to a suitableheight, and further having a brim formed of a plurality of interjoinedV- shaped parts extending radially from the base portion of the wall,with the adjacent V-shaped parts constituting the main portion of thebrim, and the wall and the brim being formed integral-1y.

In accordance with the present invention, the head-engaging wall made ofa foamed synthetic resin when brought into surface-to-surface contactwith the side portion of the users head during use is such that the hatimparts no undue pressure or gives hardly any clamping feeling to thehead. This is also attributable to the fact that the material itself ishighly elastic and comfortable to the touch. In addition, the alternateridges and grooves which may be provided at least in the upper surfaceof the brim in accordance with the present invention and which extend tothe outer peripheral edge thereof serve to keep the brim taut and ensuresatisfactory outflow of shampoo or washing water. Thus the washingliquid can reliably be prevented from running down the face.

For better understanding of the present invention, an embodiment thereofwill hereinafter be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a shampoo hat in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a front view partly in section taken along the line 22 in FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the shampoo hat as it is worn on thehead of an infant; and

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are fragmentary essentially crosssectional views,similar to FIG. 2, but depicting various alternative forms.

A shampoo hat of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is moldedof a foamed material of cellular type made of a synthetic resin such aspolyethylene. In order to secure a snug fit but pressure-free contactwith the heads of different sizes and shapes, the shampoo hat isprovided with an upright, endless wall 2 defining a hole 1 for receivingthe head and extending upward to a suitable height. The hole 1 may be ingenerally circular or elliptical form which has the longer diameter inthe front-to-back direction of the head when the hat is put on the head.The brim 3 which extends outward from the base portion of the wall 2 isprovided, at least in its upper surface, with a plurality of V-shapedgrooves 4 extending radially up to the outer peripheral edge of the brim3. The wall 2 and the brim 3 are molded into a unitary structure.

Besides various advantages already described, the shampoo hat of thisinventionas described in the present mode of embodiment is advantageousin that there is no need to provide a frame member along the peripheraledge of the brim and that the deformation of the hole 1 to be producedwhen the hat is put on can be fully compensated for by the amenabilityof the foamed material which extends from the wall 2 to the peripheraledge of the brim 3, whereby folds or sidewise wrinkles to be otherwiseformed in the brim can be precluded perfectly.

In accordance with FIG. 6 of the drawing, the grooves in the shampoo hatof the present invention may alternatively be formed in the shape of aseries of circular arches in section, namely in wavelike shape. Thepitch of the grooves may be great or small as desired.

Further, the grooves which are to be positioned around the forehead whenthe hat is put on may be so constructed as to be discontinued midwaybetween the wall and the outer edge of the brim, whereby the washingliquid can 3 be guided to the grooves in the rear portion for drainage.Although the present invention is described above with respect to aprincipal embodiment, such mode of embodiment is given merely forillustrative purpose but with no intent of limiting the scope of theinvention. It will be apparent for those skilled in the art that variousmodifications of the invention can be made, but these modificationsshould be included in the scope of the present invention insofar as theydo not depart from the claims v below.

What is claimed is: I. A one-piece shampoo hat formed of a molded foamsynthetic material and free of any auxiliary supporting means embeddedwithin said material, comprising a generally annular brim having aninner edge defining a generally centrally located hole for fitting thehat around a 'users head, said brim having a plurality of grooves ofpredetermined shape emanating radially from said center hole edge andformed at least in the upper surface of said brim, and wherein saidgrooves extend only to and termi- 4 wherein said central hole is ofgenerally elliptical shape having the longer dimension in afront-to-back direction when applied to a users head.

5. A one piece shampoo hat as defined in claim 1 wherein said groovesare comprised of a series of alternating arches having a wave-likeshape.

6. A one-piece shampoo hat formed of a molded foam synthetic materialand free of any auxiliary supporting means embedded within saidmaterial, comprising a generally annular brim having an inner edgedefining a generally centrally located hole for fitting the hat around ausers head, said brim having a plurality of grooves of predeterminedshape formed radially at least in the upper surface of said brim, andwherein said grooves extend primarily from approximately midway betweensaid central hole edge and the outer edge of said brim.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,510,880 5/1970 Gerson 2-681,593,042 7/ 1926- Streuli 2174 2,599,152 6/ 1952 Bartfay 2174 2,666,9241/ 1954 Torricelli 2174 3,319,262 5/1967 Lee 2-174 3,348,240 10/1967Kohn 2174 3,419,909 1/ 1969 Spain 2--174 JORDAN FRANKLIN, PrimaryExaminer G. H. KRIZMANICH, Assistant Examiner

